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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Fathering a Bride

We attended a beautiful wedding recently of two wonderful people, Derek and Michelle.

Michelle's dad fought back tears as he walked his daughter down a small path in a wooded area and into the covered patio to meet her new husband. Everyone smiled. Every women cried. The New River Gorge bore witness to the occasion as they exchanged vows and prayed. Andrew and I sang "I Have and I Always Will" while everyone cried again. The pastor pronounced, the 1812 overture boomed, and the couple began their march up the aisle as husband and wife! Awesome.

Originally we were going to leave Joanna with someone for the weekend but we decided to bring her along for the ride. People spoke with us about how adorable she is (duh) and made comments like "that will be her soon!" or "enjoy this time before she finds the love of her life." Jonathan usually replies with "Stop it. She won't get older" or "She's going to grow just old enough to run to the door when I get home from work, then she'll stop."

I'm praying that my daughter meets a man that dotes on her the way that Jonathan dotes on me. I'm praying that my daughter falls in love with a man that respects her the way that Jonathan respects me. The quality of man that my daughter seeks will be in direct relation to how she perceives our marriage. The best thing I can do for my daughter is put my marriage first. When a home is built on a strong foundation, it will stand for generations.